HardDriveRX™ is an outgrowth of MouseCalls® Computer Services, which was founded in 1998 as a service provider to homes and small businesses in Nashville, TN. In 1999, we gained a client who called us because he hired a large, well known data recovery service to retrieve his Quicken data. $1,500 later, he received 16 CDs in the mail and had no idea what to do with them. He was an elderly computer user who only wanted to be able to balance his budget.
He mentioned during his service visit by our firm that if anyone could perform data recovery for less, they might do well for themselves. We saw a need among our client base that was not being filled.
Over the course of the next five years, we studied data recovery, implemented it, and developed our own skills and methodologies. We got pretty good at it, and gained the assistance and support of some gentlemen who were in data forensics and recovery for the state and Federal governments.
In 2006, we finalized our model, and launched HardDriveRX nationwide with the launch of our website. Thanks for visiting!
What are the symptoms of hard drive failure?
- - Drive makes repeating "clicks," "clacks," or other noises.
- - Drive won't spin at all.
- - You get a warning from Windows about "one or more of your disks needs to be checked for consistency"
- - Your computer is generating read/write errors.
- - You receive a warning at startup that your drive is "in imminent danger of failing"
- - S.M.A.R.T. warning at startup
- - Accidentally formatted drive.
- - You are missing some important files.
- - Your computer says "No Operating System Found."
- - A disgruntled employee erased critical data.
- - Your digital camera photos are no longer on your memory card.
- - Many other issues. Ask our data recovery technicians for help.
Why is the main facility in Tennessee and the cleanroom in Wisconsin?
To save you money.
The only way we are able to provide the service we do at these lower costs is to have a "first run" recovery facility in Nashville. This is where we attempt everything short of physical modification of the drive / clean room work. The class-100 clean room in Wisconsin is actually shared by other data recovery companies, keeping the costs low.
What happens if you recover a bunch of data I don't want or the recovered data is corrupted beyond usability?
We don't accept up-front payment and a service technician will walk you through the results over the phone before you pay us anything. You will have ample opportunity to make sure we have what you are looking for before you pay us. If there are critical files that you must recover, instruct your data recovery technician to thoroughly test those files before paying.
Will my drive need to go to Level Three or Four for servicing?
Approximately half the drives we receive will require some physical work. Remember, you approve everything before it happens. If your drive is making unusual noises there is a good chance cleanroom work will be necessary. If the drive is not making strange noises it reduces the likelihood of cleanroom work being necessary.
Which drives are the most difficult to work with?
In general, the larger the capacity and the more modern the disk is, the more difficult the recovery will be.
Drives that have sustained physical trauma such as getting dropped off a desk are likely to have physical damage to the platters. This will often result in a failure to get any useful data.
My drive isn't making any strange noises and it's spinning but it's not detected in BIOS or it's detected as something unusual in BIOS. Can you help me?
Yes. Most of the time a drive isn't detected in BIOS or is detected as something weird, it is a corruption we can fix. Most of the time we can fix these without cleanroom intervention.
My drive is detected as the wrong size in BIOS, can you help me?
Yes. We have tools that can determine the correct size of the drive and pull data accordingly.
I opened my hard disk in an attempt to fix it but it didn't work, can you help me?
If the platters have been visibly damaged during your attempt you should save your money and not send it.
If it was a multi-platter drive and you attempted to remove the platters you should save your money and not send it.
What are the most common causes of recovery failure?
If we inspect a drive and find out the platters have been physically scratched or damaged we will more than likely fail. This is especially true when the client has spent multiple hours messing around with the drive themselves and scratched the platter beyond readability.
If you guys fail, will I be able to go to another service for an attempt?
Of course, although in cases where we notice physical damage to the platters we'll probably suggest you do not as most of these attempts are often beyond repair.
Why don't you do RAID recovery?
We are a price-conscious recovery service. We target a niche market, and RAID is a bit too advanced to fit in that niche.
I live in the Nashville area, can I just drop off my drive?
Yes. Our normal business hours are noted on the website. Just be sure to fill out our online data recovery service form and bring a printout of the confirmation page with your crashed hard drive.
I would like my drive to be bootable again, will you be able to permanently repair it?
THIS IS A VERY BAD PLAN. In the cases of failed drives it's usually not a good idea to attempt this. Many times the root cause of the problem will still exist and the drive will break again in the near-term.
I do not wish to pay by credit card, can I send a check?
Sure, although please do not send it with the drive. We will accept checks but we will cash them and wait for the check to clear before sending you your data.
What is the average turnaround time on a standard service hard drive recovery case?
The average turnaround on a case with our service is 7 business days. This is the time between when we receive the drive and when the data is shipped out. If the drive needs to go to the cleanroom or parts need to be ordered the turnaround time goes up to around 10 business days. Please note that these timeframes are estimations. We cannot guarantee service will be complete in that timeframe. We did take three weeks to retrieve a novel a client was writing from his bad drive...but we got it all back, intact.
What is your security policy, how do you protect my data?
First and foremost, your drive will be worked on in our lab in Nashville, TN or in Madison, WI. It is never outside either location except in transit. Many of our competitors will outsource the actual engineering work or recovery work. Some will even send your drive overseas to Israel or India to have work done. Our facility has 24 hour security. Our data recovery customer support staff is trained to respect your privacy and will not poke around in your data for any reason other than verification of your data's integrity.
Will I get my old hard drive back?
Usually we'll send you your data in a first shipment and hold onto the drive until we hear from you that you are happy with your data recovery. Then, if you wish, we will send you back the drive in a second shipment. We will not be permanently repairing the drive, so unless the drive is under warranty it usually makes sense for us to just professionally dispose of it when we're done. If you wish for the drive to be sent back to you immediately, that is of course your right. However, we will not be able to do further work if you find there are missing or corrupted files.
Will you void my drive's warranty?
Yes, if it goes to our clean room, that is very likely. An invasive recovery involves breaking seals. We are about getting your data, not necessarily
I need to return my drive to a vendor because it was under warranty, but I don't want my data on that drive when I return it. Can you help?
Yes. In the event we get you your data and you are happy with it, at that point you can instruct us to make sure the drive is wiped before we send it back to you or to the vendor. A fee of $35 will be applied if you wish us to perform this procedure on your drive. This is to offset the cost of engineering staff and the extra time spent on one of our servers.
